Payday 2 is an exceptional PvE cooperative game that allows players to play it however they like. If you want to go guns blazing, you can; sneaky peeking? You got it; or are you just punching everyone who crosses your path? Of course, you can! Payday 2 is a game full of possibilities; players can play every mission a hundred times with different outcomes.
This article will cover some of the best melee weapons, decks, and perks to succeed with your melee build in Payday 2. Melee weapons in Payday can be tricky to use; here, we will also give you some tips on how to succeed with them.
Overview of Our Melee Build Guide for Payday 2
Payday 2 is a game designed around weapons, with an armory so massive and an incredible amount of gun customization options and variety. Playing the game with only melee weapons can be strange, different, and challenging. You will have to fight various enemies through hordes, so picking the right build for the occasion is fundamental.
This article will help you pick the right gear and the proper melee weapon to succeed in your mission.
Best Melee Weapons for a Melee Build in Payday 2
For this guide, we will mainly focus on the free melee weapons that come included in the base game and which can be unlocked by playing Payday 2. Bear in mind that if you have some of the DLC packs for Payday 2, you may find replacements for the weapons included in this list. Some DLC weapons are slightly modified versions of the free ones with higher stats.
Before we continue, we will not talk about armor since that would be a personal preference depending on whether you want to be a tank or have more movement speed.
Stainless Steel Syringe
The Stainless Steel Syringe deals a base damage of 30 hit points in exchange for high concealment and a poison effect that deals damage over time to enemies hit by it.
Damage: 30 (80)
Knockdown: 30 (80)
Charge time: 1.5 seconds
Range: 150
Concealment: 30
Weapon Butt
The Weapon Butt is probably one of the fastest melee weapons in Payday 2 with low damage but 0s recharge time.
- Damage: 30
- Knockdown: 30
- Charge time: 0 seconds
- Range: 150
- Concealment: 30
Nova Chank
To unlock the Nova Chank, you must complete The Hoxton Breakout Heist and Free Hoxton. This melee weapon is a toothbrush adapted as a weapon. Similar to the Weapon Butt, the Nova Chank offers great swing speed allowing you to take enemies faster.
- Damage: 30 (80)
- Knockdown: 30 (80)
- Charge time: 2 seconds
- Range: 150
- Concealment: 30
El Verdugo
This is your melee weapon if you want to feel like a badass. This weapon is a machete and is one of the free weapons with the greatest damage. The only downside is that it is one point away from having perfect concealment.
- Damage: 70(450)
- Knockdown: 70 (450)
- Charge time: 4 seconds
- Range: 225
- Concealment: 29
Electrical Brass Knuckles
The Electrical Brass knuckles have slow damage but exchange for a beneficial effect. Every enemy hit gets electrocuted, and their actions get interrupted.
- Damage: 20
- Knockdown: 20
- Charge time: 2 seconds
- Range: 200
- Concealment: 30
Pounder
The Pounder is a nail gun with significant damage but slow reload time and not excellent concealment but extremely fun to use. This weapon is part of the Wolf Pack Item.
- Damage: 70 (450)
- Knockdown: 70 (450)
- Charge time: 4 seconds
- Range: 200
- Concealment: 27
What Primary and Secondary Weapons Should you Add to your Melee Build?
The guns you select for this build are mostly irrelevant. We recommend bringing weapons with high concealment so you can complete as many objectives as possible before alerting any guards. If you end up really favoring concealment, we also have a guide to the best Payday 2 stealth build for you to consider.
Best Perk Decks for Melee Builds in Payday 2
Choosing the right Perk Deck for this kind of build will play a massive role as it will give you some passive effects that will significantly improve your chances of survival with this kind of playstyle.
Infiltrator
The Infiltrator is a close combat specialist with increased stats for players close to enemies.
- Overdog: 12% Less damage when surrounded by three or more enemies
- Helmet Popping: 25% Headshot damage
- Blendin In: 1+ concealment, Movement speed is less affected by 15% if the player uses armor and 45% more XP from completing days and jobs
- Advanced Close Combat: 8% Less damage if the player is at medium range from enemies
- Life Drain: Making a melee attack regenerates 20% of players’ health. It occurs every 10 seconds
These are some advantages of using this Perk Deck for this class.
Sociopath
This Perk shares some similarities with the Infiltrator Perk Deck, but the difference is that this one benefits player armor.
- Overdog: 12% Less damage when surrounded by three or more enemies
- Helmet Popping: 25% Headshot damage
- Tension: Killing an enemy regenerates 30% more armor. It occurs every 1 second. Player also gains additional 10% armor
- Blendin In: 1+ concealment, Movement speed is less affected by 15% if the player uses armor and 45% more XP from completing days and jobs
- Clean Hit: Killing an enemy with a melee weapon regenerates 10% health. When the player is at medium range from enemies, they receive 8% less damage
Yakuza
The Yakuza Perk Deck is designed for risky and lone wolfs and will mainly benefit players with low damage.
- If the player has low health, the armor recovery rate will increase. If a player’s health is below 25% player will gain up to a 20% armor recovery rate
- Helmet Popping: 25% Headshot damage
- Hebi Irezumi: The lower the health, the more movement speed the player gains. If health is below 25%, the player will gain up to a 20% movement speed
- Oni Irezumi: All berserker state effects in this perk deck will start at 50%
- Deck Completion Bonus: The possibility of getting a higher quality item during a mission is increased by 10%.
Best Skills for Melee Builds in Payday 2
Skills will also give players specific benefits based on their play style.
Counterstrike
You can counterattack enemies and knock them down if you charge your melee weapon.
Berserker
If your health is low, you will deal more damage with any melee weapon.
Martial Arts
50% Less damage from melee attacks, and chances of knocking down an enemy are increased.
Bloodthirst
Every kill increases the damage to 100% of your next melee attack to a maximum of 1600%
Pumping Iron
Melee attacks against non-special enemies do more damage.
Second Wind
If your armor breaks, movement speed will be increased by 30% for five seconds allowing you to escape complicated situations.
Iron Man
Total armor value is increased by 30%. This is great and will let you take more damage when rocking our best Payday 2 melee build.
Best Equipment and Throwables for Melee Builds in Payday 2
The equipment, such as supply bags and throwables, is mostly up to personal preference. Here we will recommend to you what has worked for us.
Doctor/Armor Bag
The doctor or armor bag will allow you to replenish your health or armor if needed.
Sentry Gun:
The Sentry Gun will provide cover by automatically shooting at your enemies. The Sentry Gun will use ammo from your stash and can be destroyed.
ECM Jammer
Once placed, the ECM Jammer can incapacitate enemies within a certain radius. The ECM Jammer can only be used once.
Concussion / Smoke Grenade
Whatever you pick from these two grenades, it will help you to stun or blind your enemies so you can close the distance between you and them.
Conclusion to Our Best Payday 2 Melee Build Guide
This kind of melee build can be extremely fun to play in Payday 2 but difficult at the same time. We advise you to start with lower difficulties, especially if you are not an experienced player in Payday 2. We hope you found this guide useful, and most importantly, we hope you have tons of fun playing on your heists.
For other great loadouts, check out our best Payday 2 dodge build! Being super agile can be quite fun yet challenging to pull off. For even more great loadouts, check out our list of the 5 best Payday 2 builds. It will undoubtedly inspire you to try out some new weapon and perk combinations!
Good Luck, Good Heist!
